Lock lift and uncoupling arrangement used with car couplings



Feb. 20, 1923. 1,446,345. C. M. HANNAFORD.

LOCK LIFT AND UNCOUPLING AREANGEMENT U SED WITH CAR COUPLINGS.

HLED' ocT. ll. 1921. 2 sHEETs-sHEET z Patented Feb. 20, 1923..

' ens CLno HANNAFORID, OF *RICHMoNn VIRGINIA.

LOCK LIFT AND UNCOUPLING ARRANGEMENT USED WITH CAB] COUPLINGS.,

Application filed October 11, 1921. Serial N0.-506,965.

TO all whom Z' may concern Be it known thatI, CLEON M. HANNAFORD, a citizen. ot the United States, residingat Richmond, in 'the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented a certain new and usetul Improveinent in Look Litts and Uncoupiing Arrangemcnts Used with Tar Couplings, of which the following' is a full, clear, and eXact description.

This invention is in the nature of an improvement upon the locklitt, otherwise the lock litter, or top lock lft, and uncoupling arrangement used with automatic couplers :on railway ears' of the A. R. A. orM. C. B. standard Janney type, and particularly the type D coupler, and it s designed to meet the present requirement to dispense with the clevis and link connection between the lft and its Operating mechanism andyet preserve the flexibility needed in the longitudinal and lateral movements of the coupler, and at the same time minimize alteration of the standard ltt Operating mechanism, and insure a direct upward lft ol the look lft,

In urtherance of these purposes of the invention, any of the well known and co1nmonly used types of look lifts may be modified mainly t'o the extent of somewhat prolonging the head Or upper end of the *lft and providing it wth an eye or hole which may be engaged by an extension *of the ltt actuating .Or uncoupling mechanism in the longitudinal line of thecoupler, and preferably providing such head with another eye or h ole arranged at right angles to the first mentioned eye or hole so as to adapt the lft 'to those lift actuating mechanisms which .run substantially parallel with the end sills throughout, the shank or neck of the head being rounded so'that thelift may be insert ed and play in the opening of the coupler head in Orderto insurethe necessary fiexi bility, as'I will 'proceed now to explain and finally claim. 1 i

In the' accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the'several figures of which like' parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the twohole lft used in connection with a li'ft actuating meohansm having its connecting elem'ent p extending substantially in the* direction of the length of the coupler. Fig. 2 is a side elevation on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the two-hole lft, and Fig. 4 is a side view thereof. Fig. 5 is 'an edge view of the one-hole lft, and' Fig. 6 is a side :view thereof. Fig; 7 is a front elevation illustrating' the invention in connection with a 'll'ft actuating or uncoupling mechanism running parallel with the end sill.

Referring to Figs. 3 and l, l is a lock lft of approved form, modified to the extent of having its upper portion or head provided with a transverseeyeor hole 2, and an ad Jacent reduced portion formed as a cylindri- Cal or rounded shank or neok 3, above which is the head 4, arranged at right angles to the p main body of the lft, and having the hole Such a two-hole liftimay be used in connection with either type oflock lft actuating mechanism such as shown respectively in Figs. l and 2 On the One hand and Fig. on the other.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a look lft 6 having the y cylindrical or rounded shank or neck 7, and

a head 8 provided with a single eye Or hole 9. i In this instance the head is turned at right angles to the body of the lft for .coopi eration with a lft actuating' mechanism such as shown in Fig. 1.

The shank Or neck 3 or 7 may have an ofi set forward or backward to provide for clearance it neoessary; p i

In order to adaptlifts of the character described to couplers and lift actuating mechanism already installed, it is only neoessary to discard the clevises, links, Chains, pins or cotters now used and to extend the link engaging element 10 of theactuating 4 rod 11 inthe direction of the length of the coupler, and such extension need be only,

great enough to provide for the arc of move- 'ment in raislng and lowering the llft, that is to say, unlocking and looking the knuckle of the coupler, and ln ordinary installatlons of lift actuating mechanisms there is sulfi- Cient metal in the mechanism to permit of itsiheing drawn Out to the eXtent desired, thus avoidlng new installationa Thisactuating or uncouphng rod may .he 111' One piece, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In some cases, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, it may be necessary Or desirable to put a band'12 in the part 10 of the actuating ine'chanism in order to bring' the extension to a level with the head of the lft, but in other instances this bend may he entirely unnecessary.

The upward* turn or lip at the end of r, oFF cE a line with the-center line of the coupler or car. The aotuatlng rod is so arranged that its part 10, whenthe loclelitt is down in placen the coupler, res'ts on the bottom Oli' the eye or hole in the look-ltt and thus prevents the look-lft from creeping or working up and out of the coupler.

A s shown in Fg. 7, thefactuating mechanism, which is well known, compr ises a lever mechanism 13, pivoted at 14: to the end slll andhavin'g an Operating handlc 15 and in this case -also the free end 16 of the lever 13 may he drawn out or eX- tended sufiiciently to pass through the transverse hole in the' ltt, such draw 'ing 'Out being sufiiciently extended to permit of thellateral'movement of the coupler Without disengagement. r

In all cases the holes Or eyes in the locl:- lft' are .large enough to permit 'freedom of movement without crampng'. The eye or hole in the singlehole look-lftandu the top hole in the two hole look-lft are oval, that is to say deeper than'wide, so as to permit the unconpling rod handla after it has raised the look-lft, to drop back into' approximately a Vertical position, thereby eliminatng' dangerous conditions caused hy reducing the clearance between the ends of ears, which is the case with some of the present styles of uncouplinp; arrange men ts. i

By the construction described, all of the requirements of the A. R. A. with respect tothe type D coupler are met in a simple and relatively inexpensive Way, both for repair and for new work. The invention will permit the railroads to comply with the A. F.. A. rule requrng a coupler operating device of a type directly connected to the coupler knuckle looking block litter, or top look lift, without the use of Clevises, links Chains, pins, or cotters,and without ncurri'ng the eXpense of providing special castings and uncoupling arrangements. My device in no way affects the present functions of the'type D coupler, but it does provide for a simple and inexpensive uncoupling arrangement consistent with the standard requirements.

It Will: be noted that the eye Or hole 5 or 9 is arranged the reverse of the common style of top look ltt, that is parallel with the center line of the coupler or car or in the direction of the length o'l' the coupler, and therehy permits a direct upWard lft out ot' the slot in the coupler in an are of a circle curving toward the car, instead of the customary sidewise ltt. v

Lifts constructed in accordance with this invention may be made so as to fit the Openings in the couplers through which ,their holed heads extend above the couplers. The shape of 'the hole -or slot in the coupler is of no importance since the provision of the rounded shank Orneck will' go into and Operate in any kind of opening in the coupler. The shank or neck may he made square, hexagonal, Or ol? other cross-section in order to adapt it to special forms of ooupler openings, hut the lock-litt provided with the rounded shank or necl: is especially adapted for use in the type D- coupler.

It will be understood thatlock-litts of the character described are inserted. in the couplers from below through openings in the hottoms and their eye-portions pass through the holes or slots in the top Wall O the coupler, and in the case of the improved look-lft of this invention, the lft when its shank is in said hole or slot is then given a turn of ninety degrees so as to bring* the hole or eye in thelift in the longitudinal line of the coupler ready to.

receive the link-actuating, mechanism eX- tending out in the same direction.

It will be observed that the holes Or eyes in the locl -lift and the bearings for the lift-aotuating mechanism are sutficiently large to allow enough play and the lft-actuating mechanism itself is so loosely placed in its hearings that compensation is made for both the longitudinal movement of the coupler and its lateral movement.

As already started, the rod 11 may be hentto clear strilring castings as well as to adapt it to the eye in the look lft, and Such hending may be as illustrated at 12, Or the bend may he similarly Or otherwise made 'elsewhere in the rod to suit the exigencies of installation i The look-lft and uncoupling arrangement of this invention are not only suitable* for reight ears in freght service, but they are also suitable 'for application to freight express cars which are to be used in passengerservice, because the uncoupl ing'rod lays' so close to the top of. the coupler that therodn Would pass under the diaphragm. face plate or huflers on passenger ears.

Variations in the details of construction are permissible Withinthe prnciple of the invention and the Scope of the olaims following.

What I claim is 1. A look lft for car couplers, adapted for direct engagement With lift actuatingn1echanism, said lft having its upper portion ex.-

tended and providedwith a reduced shank whereby the lft may be turned in 'the lft 2. A look lft for car couplers, adapted 'for direct engagement With lft actnating mechanisn'i, said lft having a body of substantially oblong cross-section and provided with a reduced shank and a head arranged at right angles to the body of the lft and provided With an eye or hole to receive and. cooperate With the lft actuating mechanisin, said eye or hole When the lift is in place in the conpler being located parallel With the center line of the car or coupler.

3. A lock lft for car conplers, adapted :for direct engagement With lft actuating inechanism, said lft having a body of Substantially oblong cross-section and a head arranged at right angles to the body and provided With a hole or eye located parallel With the center line of the car or Coupler and a reduced shank 01' neck next below the holed head and having a cross-section adapted for cooperation With the shape of the hole in the coupler.

4. A locl: lft for Car couplers, adapted for direct engagement With lft actnating mechanism, said lft having its head extended and arranged at right angles to the body of the lft and provided With a hole Or eye .located parallel With the center line O the car or coupler, and a shank Or neck next below the holed head and having a crosssection adapted for cooperation With the shape of the hole in the' conpler, said lft also provided With a transverse hole belon said shank or neck and adapted to be located parallel With the end sill or end of the car, either of said holes being capable of use in connection With a lft actnating mechanism Without the intervention of clevises and links. i

5. A look lft for car couplers, adapted for direct engagenient With lft actnating mechanisin, said lft having a body of substantially oblong cross-section and a head eX- tended and arranged at right angles to the body of the lft and provided Witha hole or eye Which When the lft is in place' in the coupler is located parallel With the center line of the car or coupler, and a rounded shank or neck next below the holed head.

6. A loclr lift for car couplers, adapted for direct engagement With lft actuating inechanisln, said li ft having its head extended and arranged at right angles to the body of the lft and provided With a hole 01' eye located parallel With the Center line of the car or c'onpler, and a rounded shank or neck next below the holed head said lft also provided with a 'transverse hole below said shank or neck and adapted to be located parallel With the end sill or end of the car, either of said holes being capable of nse in connection With a lft actuating mechanism Without the intervention of clevises and links.

In testiinony Whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of October A. D. 1921.

CLEON M. HANNAFORD. Witnesses:

J. J. EWING, CHAS. A. J ORDAN. 

